Enzo Ferrari Museum opens in Modena, hoping to join automotive museum greats

A new museum dedicated to Enzo Ferrari, the legend behind the prancing horse, opened in Modena March 10.

Formerly Ferrari's house, the new Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari museum is something of a sister project to the established Museo Ferrari at Maranello and is likely to attract motor racing fans from all over the world.

Among the first installations is an exhibit telling the story of Enzo's time as both a driver and engineer, as well as a selection of vehicles associated with Ferrari which have been loaned from other collections and museums.

The museum is designed by Jan Kaplický, the architect behind the new Media Center at London's Lord's Cricket Ground and the Birmingham Selfridges Building, who sadly passed away in 2009 before the museum was completed.

Tourism officials will be hoping that Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari, situated in a former industrial part of town, can pull in as many visitors as the Museo Ferrari, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

It may also help the Ferrari brand edge its way above its competition as a place of pilgrimage for motorsports fans.

Any Porsche fan worth their salt, of course, will already have visited the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, a monument to the motorsports brand's success and science.

Not far away is BMW World in Munich, a veritable smorgasbord of motoring telling the story of the BMW brand -- and acting as a giant interactive showroom for the company's latest products.

American car fans are more likely to have visited the motoring attractions on offer in Detroit, which include the Walter P Chrysler Museum and the Henry Ford Museum.